Lawless

Tom Hardy as Forrest Bondurant

Lawless is an entertaining but uneven adaptation of Matt Bondurant’s novel The Wettest County in the World, which was inspired by the author’s grandfather. Part gangster flick, part Southern gothic, and part Western, the story follows the three Bondurant brothers in Prohibition era Virginia. They are reputed for their survival skills and good moonshine. Local authorities don’t care. The oldest two brothers don’t think twice about beating aggressors with bare fists or brass knuckles. The youngest is eager but more of a lover than a fighter.

Occasionally, a gangster might stray into town to commit murder or a gang might try to rob the brothers. Otherwise, all goes smoothly until a lawman from Chicago swoops in and wants a cut. Denied this, he wages war against all bootleggers in the county, including the intrepid Bondurants.

Jason Clarke as Howard Bondurant

The atmospheric beginning captures the hard boiled life of our heroes in all its browns, from beards and clothes to ramshackle buildings. The detailed depiction is both accurate and the archetype of a mountain town in the early twentieth century: expect strong accents and tobacco spit (and blatant WHITES ONLY and COLORED signs, in case you forgot people were racist then). The evocative soundtrack is gorgeous if occasionally heavy handed. Landscapes are equally memorable, from a smoky mountainside to a kudzu covered wonderland.

This film takes its time in introducing its enjoyable characters before it veers off course. The acting is excellent. A surprisingly funny Tom Hardy plays Forrest Bondurant, the occasionally tender hearted but tough as nails ringleader. Jason Clarke does well with less as the haunted, constantly drunk Howard Bondurant. Shia LaBeouf is effective as Jack, the baby. Ambitious and foolish, the endearing Jack tries to swagger, but he generally reacts to violence the way most of us would—with pure terror.

The Bondurant brothers.

Jessica Chastain has little to do but look concerned and lovely like many women in Westerns, but Mia Wasikowska has a little more meat as the unattainable preacher’s daughter who catches Jack’s eye. She enjoys flirting with the love-struck, unsuitable Bondurant boy; her sly coquetry is highly believable. Dane DeHaan plays Jack’s sweet, innovative friend, and their relationship is predictable but convincing in its innocence.

Gary Oldman has a small role as a notorious gangster, and Guy Pearce plays Special Agent Charlie Rakes. Pearce is amusing but not exactly subtle. For example, when introduced, he walks up to the first woman he sees and leers at her for several minutes. He openly laughs in the faces of these “hicks,” as he calls them.  (The audience gasped whenever he unexpectedly appeared and cheered when he sustained injuries.)

Guy Pearce as Charlie Rakes

As disturbing as Rakes can be, his villainy is somewhat diminished since the protagonists are as brutal as he is. Rakes may abuse innocents while the Bondurants torture murderers, but it’s difficult to get behind characters who mutilate people. The villain’s crimes are portrayed as sadistic and traumatic, while the main characters’ violence is often shown to be grim but funny and deserved.

The violence itself is extremely graphic but not always serious. The Bondurants are rumored to be “indestructible,” so don’t be surprised if characters recover remarkably quickly from life-threatening wounds. The theme of immortality is successfully played for laughs, but it could have been a statement about the Bondurants’ reckless youth and egomania.

Shia LaBeouf and Mia Wasikowska

An amalgamation of genres gives the film a unique feel, and a few surprises await viewers. But the story also contains numerous clichés that don’t serve the plot. One fears for the safety of a good natured but physically disabled character, and several women are raped because… they are women? At least one of the sexual assaults is shown off screen but does nothing to forward the plot or the victim’s arch. The act is hardly addressed, but then again, little of the violence here is.

The movie’s tone is simultaneously too lighthearted and too dark. Grisly though it is, Lawless is still a fun and well-acted film. It’s unfortunate that the movie doesn’t reach its promised intensity, reducing what could have been a rousing legend into a diverting yarn.

Shia LaBeouf as Jack Bondurant

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The spies in Tomas Alfredson’s artfully crafted adaptation of John Le Carre’s 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy toil away in mundane offices. Most of what they type and read is a mystery. When suspicions of a mole arise, former spy George Smiley is called in as suddenly as he was forced to retire. Throughout the film, one wonders not only about the mole’s identity but about where these spies’ work begins and their emotional lives end.

Though hours shorter than the 1979 BBC adaptation, this version takes its time. The movie, like the book, often forces the audience to read between the lines. Its color scheme is as bleak as the story’s Cold War setting, and the camera almost nostalgically observes the drudgery of sorting through physical files and writing with pen and paper. The soundtrack and slower pacing mimic movies of the 1970s, but the cinematography and editing are simultaneously inventive and retro.

This very believable world is peopled with chilly characters, played by an excellent array of familiar actors. Each is tinged with suspicion and a hint (or more) of amorality. Beneath even the more demonstrative personalities lie opaque motivations. John Hurt plays the paranoid and cantankerous Control, head of the Circus (the ring of top spies). Toby Jones does well as Percy Alleline, an ambitious spy who gets in a power struggle with Control. Toby Esterhase, a Hungarian working for England, is played convincingly by David Dencik, and Colin Firth perfectly fits the charming Roy Bland.

Mark Strong’s portrayal of a haunted “Scalphunter” is especially poignant, as is Tom Hardy’s disturbed Ricky Tarr. Also memorable are Simon McBurney as the bureaucratic but shrewd British undersecretary and Benedict Cumberbatch, touching as Smiley’s young assistant Peter Guillam. Gary Oldman plays our unlikely hero, Smiley. For the first half of the film, he hardly says anything. His dull and humble appearance is impossible to read. But his low voice contains a glimmer of cunning. Gradually Smiley’s skills of perception and methodical tactics show results. While unassuming and vulnerable, Smiley is also unnaturally calm, and aware of when to use either sympathy or implacability to get the intelligence he needs.

A few common phrases (such as “bad apple,” and “trust no one”) pepper the script, but clichés are extremely rare. Don’t expect these characters to explain why they sacrifice their relationships and moral codes for a tedious job that is both dangerous and thankless. Some likely appreciate the sordid fruits of their labor; others might relish the gathering of information. The older ones hang onto past glories of World War II. Some may not know.

The plot jumps between characters and time periods. It is not always clear who is looking for what and why. Yet this confusion adds to the complexity that makes up the world of spies and secrets. The story is confusing, but the sense of alienation that lurks behind the Circus’s jokes and jaunty boys’ club mentality is all too certain.